You are very strong, but my painting style is better than yours!

But this surging wave of energy, amplified by powerful spiritual pressure, was like a flood. It was no longer a simple strike, but a raging torrent that could blow up a radius of hundreds of meters!

"drink!"

The Antelope Knight took the blow head-on, feeling as if his entire body was being struck by an iron fist. However, he managed to break through the wind and waves with his lance and was not blown away in a sorry state.

"This guy……"

She pursed her lips.

Putting aside her unpredictable movements just now, this one strike alone proves that her opponent's strength is above hers!

Besides that, there was another thing that caught her attention: the technique that Iori had just demonstrated—catching a Cero, turning it into her own attack, and then returning it to Iori.

She was very familiar with this scene, because the Antelope Rider himself also possessed this skill and relied on this talent to be invincible in competitions among his own kind.

——[Virtual Flash Encore]!

As far as she knew, Hollows with similar abilities were rare, and even when one did appear, it was usually an incomplete version, such as only being able to absorb a portion, or being able to receive but not reflect it.

She's the only one who can achieve a "complete rebound"!

Having the same skills could be considered a coincidence, but the most incredible thing is that, in the Antelope Rider's perception, the guy in front of him is clearly not a Hollow!

"Grim Reaper... are you the Grim Reaper too?"

Iori stood between the two female warriors, first giving Esdeath an apologetic smile, temporarily calming the restless queen.

"How did you come?"

Esdeath was initially puzzled, then her expression changed slightly. "You put a locator on me?"

"It's just a vital signs monitoring device. After all, she's the woman I love, so having an extra layer of security makes me feel more at ease."

Iori said it very frankly.

If it were Sera or Akame here, they would probably blush at Iori's bold declaration of love, the Elf Girl would be flustered, and the women from "Shadow Reality" would scream with surprise... But this is Esdeath, so her reaction is much calmer.

Because she herself is a very generous type, she never feels ashamed to show affection in front of others.

"Vital signs test... I'll just take it as you being kind and pretend it didn't happen."

Haha, thanks a lot!

Iori then calmly looked at the Antelope Knight: "That's right, I am a Grim Reaper."

The Antelope Knight's tone was icy: "Impossible! Death cannot return my Cero!"

"That's because you've always been in Hueco Mundo and haven't seen how big the outside world is."

Iori smiled slightly: "The Zanpakuto of Shinigami are all kinds of strange and wonderful. It's not surprising that they have all kinds of abilities. Returning a Cero is not surprising. There are even people who can reflect all energy attacks. Aren't they more amazing than me?"

"Zanpakuto..."

Antelope Knight pondered to herself. Although she possessed strength comparable to a veteran captain, as Iori had said, she had never left Hueco Mundo and was a "country bumpkin" whose knowledge could not keep up with her strength.

In Hueco Mundo, the fighting styles of the Great Men are nothing more than Cero and physical techniques. Some individuals possess special abilities, but developing them is relatively simple and crude... to put it bluntly, they are all unorthodox methods.

"It seems I'm at a disadvantage now."

After giving Iori and Esdeath a calm look, the Antelope Knight spoke indifferently, his heart heavy.

In a one-on-one situation, she was not afraid of the Ice Queen. Although the outcome was uncertain, she was confident in herself.

But if it were Iori... to be honest, her gut feeling was that she couldn't win!

If it were two against one, even escaping would be difficult for her. At this point, she had already come to the realization of this!

Unexpectedly, the Grim Reaper side, which had already gained a complete advantage, took the initiative to make concessions.

Iori said gently, "I see that neither of you has any obvious injuries. How about we end the fight here?"

"what?!"

"why?"

The two women spoke at the same time, but one's voice was one of surprise and confusion, while the other's was simply one of resentment.

Esdeath was clearly not satisfied yet. Because the battle had been interrupted, her frustration was building up in her chest, and her face looked quite unpleasant.

"It'll be over soon, and I can win even without your help!"

"I believe in your strength, Esdeath."

Iori didn't take it to heart; although Esdeath's tone was sarcastic, he didn't pay it any mind. Having known this Battle Queen for so long, how could he not know Esdeath's style?

That's only because it's Iori; if anyone else had interrupted her battle, they would probably have been on the death list long ago!

This kind of thing is like your girlfriend unplugging the power when you're about to finish a game and it's about to end—it makes your blood pressure skyrocket!

"But this battle could have a more satisfying ending. If you want to fight, I will find you a good opponent."

Iori smiled meaningfully: "Otherwise, I can do it, no matter what kind of 'battle' it is."

"..."

Esdeath glared at Iori, but then just pursed her lips and said nothing more, her eyes still somewhat unfocused.

Clearly, she was also very self-aware, knowing that she was no match for Iori in any battle, whether it was day or night.

Although she was warlike, Iori had made a decision and could only retract her claws.

"What do you mean?"

The Antelope Knight was still in shock and didn't pay attention to the conversation between the two.

"Are you going to let me go? You clearly have a better chance of winning. Although we have different positions, to be honest... if we really fight, I'm not confident."

"That's true, but there's no need to continue this battle."

Iori shook her head: "Besides, you misunderstood. I never said I was going to let you go."

"Ok?"

The Antelope Knight was puzzled. Her helmet covered her face, so her expression couldn't be seen, but her right hand holding the gun betrayed her nervousness.

"You're confusing me. What exactly do you want?"

"Before answering this question, I want to clarify a few things."

Iori glanced back and forth between the two: "How did you two start fighting?"

"I ran into it, it's that simple."

Esdeath replied without any hesitation, "Does a Hollow need a reason to be a Shinigami?"

"Ah."

Iori nodded in agreement.

But the Antelope Knight remained silent for a moment, as if he were thinking about something, before slowly saying, "I did it to protect my territory."

Given her half-human, half-beast form, her words carried considerable weight, but Iori discerned a deeper meaning in them.

"You mean Esdeath invaded your territory?"

"That's right!"

The Antelope Knight declared sternly, "This area is my territory. All the Hollows living here, whether they are Voidwalkers or Hollows, are my subordinates and are under my protection!"

"Are you their king?"

Iori became interested. "Just like that one in Las Noches?"

Hueco Mundo?

“I’ve heard about it; I’ve heard that he was a very powerful Vastord.”

The Antelope Knight shook his head: "But I am different from him. He rules over an extremely vast area and has countless subjects under his command. He is a true king."

I don't have such grand ambitions; a small territory to live in is enough. The Xu here are at most nominally my subordinates... In reality, I've never given them any orders, but I do have a few companions with whom I have a good relationship.

In this way, I am unworthy of the title of 'King,' and am merely a representative of this small tribe.

"I see……"

Upon hearing this, Iori glanced at Esdeath again, exchanged a brief look with her, and then nodded.

We can roughly deduce the cause and effect:

It's likely that Esdeath entered the Vastod's territory during her daily hunt, killed many weaker enemies, and lured out the guardian of the area.

He didn't sense any "king" or "leader" aura from the Antelope Knight. The sense of conviction, as straight and firm as a spear, was more like that of a knight or a chivalrous knight.

Mentioning "knights" in Hueco Mundo is somewhat laughable, given that it's a truly cannibalistic world with absolutely no connection to noble virtues. However, Iori wasn't surprised and chose to believe the gazelle's explanation.

Because he knew this wild Vastode:

Nellyelduodorshvank!

The former third Espada of the Espada in Bleach, a powerful Arrancar who hates fighting despite living in Hueco Mundo, never bullies the weak, and even actively protects the weak and his comrades.

Compared to her kind, she was undoubtedly a freak!

Of course, Nelliel (Nelliel for short) has not yet become an Arrancar, nor has she encountered the scheming Aizen like in the original story. Instead, she first met the "sunny and cheerful" Aizen Iori.

An unaffiliated, wild Vasto Lorde, with an honest and overly kind personality (easy to fool), who could be a more suitable tool?

Besides, she's a busty girl with a baby voice... She acts all cool, but she's actually super cute with people she knows well!

"Perhaps Esdeath invaded your territory first, but she didn't know beforehand, and hunting Hollows was her mission. There's really nothing wrong with that, don't you think?"

"……Yes."

Nilu nodded.

"After all, when a Shinigami and a Hollow meet, only one can survive!"

I am prepared to fight to the death. Considering our positions, no one should have any complaints about dying in battle!

"What an impatient guy, always talking about death."

Iori chuckled: "But you've got one thing wrong: Shinigami and Hollows aren't natural enemies; often it's just routine."

"Routine procedure?"

Nilu was taken aback.

"Yes, aside from situations where Hollows invade Soul Society and the Shinigami are forced to retaliate, the reason we periodically clean up Hollows in the Human World and Hueco Mundo is, frankly, not for justice, but to maintain the balance of souls between the three worlds."

"balance……"

"If the Void devours too many souls, causing a significant reduction in the number of souls in the mortal world, then it will threaten the safety of the Three Realms, and the God of Death will naturally have to take action to eliminate it."

Correspondingly, when Quincy threaten the number of souls, they become enemies of the Shinigami.

Even... sometimes Death itself conducts internal purges, eliminating unstable elements.

Nilu remained silent for a moment, then asked, "What do you mean by all this?"

"Don't you understand? For Soul Society, what needs to be eliminated are those Hollows who are too greedy, because their lack of restraint will create hidden dangers."

But for some more "homebody" types, we don't really care; it's not like we have to fight to the death just because we meet them.

Iori became serious: "Especially Vastodes, Hollows of this level, each one is equivalent to two or three ordinary captains in terms of 'mass'. They can't be killed casually—especially in this period when the balance of the three realms is already very delicate."

"You mean I survived?"

The Antelope Knight found it absurd that he had been let go for such a nonsensical reason.

It's like a bullfighter who, just before finally stabbing himself in the heart, suddenly says he wants to protect the ecological balance and then gives up.

"Wait, you said you wouldn't let me leave... but you don't intend to kill me? You..."

"There's no need to be so vigilant. There's no conspiracy involved; it's just my enthusiasm."

With a serious yet confident expression, Iori extended an invitation to Nel: "Become my subordinate, knight!"

"Varied--"

Nilu's eyes widened in disbelief; she never expected things to turn out this way.

"Just kidding... It's not strange to be recruited. Although I have no intention of serving anyone, that's how Hueco Mundo is. The weak have to depend on the strong to survive... But... you're a Shinigami!"

"Can't Death do it?"

Iori remained calm, seemingly unaware of how absurd her words were.

"It is only natural for a knight to serve a king, and am I not high enough to win you over?"